I dont mean to sound crude, but 96% of the South's history was not defined by this civil war crap. Who cares what the civil war was fought over- its over. Anyone still for shooting each other?
Though you say it is a small 4% and I agree that is a small percent the south HAS been defined by the civil war. Over 300k Southerners died in that war. Wounds run deep and take a LONG time to heal. If we are still like this in another 100 years then I can agree with you. But I still believe the war has an effect on those living. I mean most of us are only 2-3-4 Generations out of the war. I know some people whos' grandaddy fought in the war. I mean 140 years is really not a long time in the collective conscience of a few million. The way the south was decimated during and after the war and the way it was just left that way left a bad impression on those who lived through it. The so called "Reconstruction" reconstructed very little. Farming is a way of life whether one has a good or bad opinion of it. Though you say the changes have been a blessing on some points of that I would disagree. I think the many of thousands of farmers who have lost their livelyhood would disagree. Some may see the South as "behind" somehow, but I think that is to THEIR standards. Each region of the nation is different and diverse. What is good for New England might not be good for the west coast or the heartland.
Well in 100 years we'll all be dead. Heres the thing though. I don't see the French and Russians today complaining about how the Germans invaded them in WW1 and WW2, even though that cost them a lot more lives. Not that they have forgotten or anything like that but they realize it's over. It's always a choice whether to dwell on the past or realize that it poses no limitations on your present or future. That's not my choice to make, since I don't feel as much of a southerner as you do, but I feel that a lot of people in the south walk around with a chip on their shoulder whose cause is created to a large extent within their own minds. Maybe it's because this country has so little "dramatic" history (which is a blessing) that we have to cling to what little we had. European countries have so much history that if they psychologically identified themselves with their historical political movements so much, they would find themselves identifying with fascists, communists, and monarchs. We're so starved of conflict and strife ("history") that we don't know when to let go of it.
I would certainly be skeptical of blacks who say they simply can't succeed and deserve reparations or handouts today because they were discriminated against until the 1970s, even though that was only one generation ago, and to some extent their claims are valid. But I wouldn't indulge them to dwell on that previous generation because they have opportunities to succeed now; even if not equal opportunities, but at least a reasonable chance to have a middle class living. Dwelling on that is just holding them back now. But for the Civil War, its even more strange when I think of somebody carrying around a resentment of Northerners over this issue. It was not just one generation ago but six or seven generations ago. Most of the South today is not disadvantaged at all but quite the opposite. The conflicts of the past have disappeared-- tariffs, states' rights (an issue originally raised most aggressively by New England, ironically), have been settled in comparison to the vicious debates that occured in the past. Heck, today it is the conservative President who is pushing for more Federal power. The substance of these debates really shifts with socioeconomic factors, and in the end, it is all about protecting one's interests. The interests that the South has today is not the same as it had 100 or 150 years ago.
